Chapter 7 - The Name Lena Never Said.
The hidden office seemed colder after Gabriel read the word paternity.
Lena folded the page as though making it smaller could make it disappear.
Gabriel did not raise his voice.
"Tell me."
Lena looked at Rory.
"Not here."
Rory crossed her arms.
"People always say that before they lie."
Lena's face tightened with pain.
Gabriel crouched beside Rory.
"Your mother isn't trying to hurt you."
Rory looked at him.
"Then why is she scared of you?"
Gabriel had no answer.
They returned to a safe apartment controlled only by Mateo.
No estate staff knew the address.
No company driver brought them there.
Lena waited until Rory was asleep in the next room.
Then she told Gabriel the truth.
Seven years earlier, before Lena was accused of theft, she and Gabriel had spent one night together after a company charity gala.
Gabriel remembered the night.
He had been grieving his father and drinking too much.
Lena had resigned from his office weeks later.
Then Sterling accused her of stealing confidential files.
Gabriel had accepted the investigation without ever speaking to her.
"I found out I was pregnant after I left."
Gabriel stared at the dark window.
"Rory is mine?"
"I don't know for certain."
Lena's voice trembled.
"But there was no one else in that period."
Gabriel sat down slowly.
Every detail of Rory's face rearranged itself in his memory.
Her eyes.
Her stubborn chin.
The way she watched before speaking.
He had noticed similarities and dismissed them as emotion.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Lena laughed bitterly.
"I believed you had framed me."
Gabriel looked ashamed.
"And when you learned I hadn't?"
"By then Sterling had already threatened Rory."
Lena wiped her eyes.
"He said if I contacted you, she'd disappear."
Gabriel stood so abruptly the chair scraped backward.
"He threatened my child."
"He threatened mine."
Lena's correction stopped him.
Gabriel nodded.
"You're right."
The next morning, he arranged a private DNA test through a doctor Mateo trusted.
Rory asked why they needed a cotton swab.
Lena told her it was to answer an important family question.
Rory looked at Gabriel.
"Are you maybe my dad?"
The directness hurt more than uncertainty.
"Maybe."
Rory thought about it.
"Would you be mad if you're not?"
"No."
"Would you leave if you are?"
Gabriel's throat tightened.
"No."
She allowed the nurse to take the sample.
While they waited, Mateo found a hidden audio file inside Arthur's office computer.
The recording featured Arthur and Sterling arguing.
Sterling sounded terrified.
"I did what you asked."
Arthur's voice was calm.
"You got careless."
"Lena has copies."
"Then find her."
"And the girl?"
A long pause followed.
Arthur finally answered.
"If she's Gabriel's daughter, she's leverage."
Gabriel gripped the edge of the desk.
The recording continued.
Sterling whispered, "And if she isn't?"
Arthur laughed softly.
"Then she's disposable."
Lena covered her mouth.
Rory stood in the hallway behind them.
No one had heard her approach.
Her brave expression disappeared.
"What does disposable mean?"
Before Gabriel could answer, every light in the safe apartment went out.
May you like
Mateo reached for his weapon.
A second later, the front door exploded inward.
